1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus such as a personal computer (PC) or a server having a separating plate for securing an electronic component, such as an I/O card, and to electrically insulatively separate the latter from another. In particular, the preset invention relates to such a separating plate, a securing member fitted on the separating plate and a separating structure for separating two electronic components.
2. Description of the Related Art
Each PCI card, or another I/O card such as an EISA card, mounted in an electronic apparatus such as a personal computer or a server is fitted in the connector in the electronic apparatus, and in this condition, the electronic apparatus is shipped from the factory. The electronic component such as the I/O card, however, may come out of the connector into what is called the xe2x80x9cloosened conditionxe2x80x9d due to vibration to which the electronic component is exposed during the shipment or transportation. This loosened condition may also occur if the electronic apparatus is frequently moved while in use. An example of a structure for securing the electronic components of the conventional electronic apparatus to prevent this loosened condition of the I/O card, etc. will be explained with reference to FIG. 13 in the attached drawings.
As shown in FIG. 13, I/O cards 3a, 3b and 3c of different height are fitted in connectors 2 fixed to a casing 1 of an electronic apparatus. L-shaped securing members 5a, 5b and 5c are arranged above the I/O cards 3a to 3c, respectively. The bottom portion 5d of each securing member is in contact with the upper end 9 of each I/O card through a sponge 4. A support bar 6 is fixed to a support frame of the casing 1 by screws 8 at the ends thereof at the upper part of the casing 1. The upper end of each of the securing members 5a to 5c is fixed by a screw 7 to the support bar 6. A plurality of I/O cards 3a to 3c fitted in the connectors 2 in this way are secured at the upper ends 9 thereof by the securing members 5a to 5c, thereby preventing the I/O card from being loosened.
In recent years, various types of industrial equipment have been operated continuously, and computers for office use are often used continuously for batch processing. Thus, the servers and the personal computers attached to these equipments are also run continuously. Switching off the power supply of the server or the like at the time of maintenance or inspection, therefore, constitutes the loss of time and reduces productivity. For this reason, various maintenance operations on servers or the like are often conducted without switching off the power supply, and so the electronic components, such as I/O cards, must be replaced without switching off the power supply. An increased size of the server and the resulting increase in the chance of connecting to a multiplicity of external units, on the other hand, gives rise to a demand for a great variety of interfaces in greater numbers, and I/O cards as interfaces are to be added. Further, continuous operation causes the electronic components to be replaced with a comparative greater frequency.
In changing or adding an I/O card using the conventional securing structure of an electronic component shown in FIG. 13, the securing member 5a is removed by loosening the screw 7 for changing the I/O card 3a, for example. In the process, the screw 7 may be carelessly dropped in the casing 1. If the screw 7 thus dropped falls on the substrate such as the mother board located at a lower portion in the casing l, for example, a short circuit or the like trouble may occur undesirably. Also, the worker""s hand may touch the adjacent I/O card 3b thereby posing the problem of interference with an I/O card which is not to be changed.
With an electronic apparatus such as a server, an improved workability and safety at the time of changing or adding an electronic component is required to avoiding accidents such as those described above. For this purpose, a structure is required in which an electronic component is positively insulated electrically and fixedly secured without using any screws or the like.
The conventional structure for securing the electronic component of the electronic apparatus shown in FIG. 13 also involves a great number of parts, requires a great number of steps for assembly and has a low cost effectiveness. Further, the requirement for a multiplicity of interfaces and the use of a great variety of sizes of the I/O card requires, in the case of FIG. 13, the securing members 5a, 5b and 5c of different lengths, leading to a higher parts cost. In view of this, a simple securing structure is required which can secure an I/O card or the like of any size.
A first object of the present invention is to provide a separating plate, a securing member, a separating structure for an electronic component and an electronic apparatus in which the electronic component can be positively secured and fixed while being electrically insulated from an adjacent electronic component on the one hand, and can be changed or added with an improved workability and safety on the other hand.
A second object of the invention is to provide a separating plate, a securing member, a securing structure for an electronic component and an electronic apparatus in which the electronic component can be positively secured and fixed and can be easily replaced even in the case where the size of an electronic component is changed.
A third object of the invention is to provide a separating plate, a securing member, a separating structure for an electronic component and an electronic apparatus having a simple configuration to permit both the parts cost and the number of assembly steps to be reduced.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a separating plate comprising a plate member made of an electrically insulating material, the plate member having opposite surfaces and at least one latch region having a first latch member formed in at least one of the opposite surfaces, the plate member being constructed such that a securing member having a second latch member can be fitted on the latch region and the second latch member can engage with the first latch member to secure an electronic component arranged in proximity to the plate member.
With this separating plate, the electronic component can be separated and electrically insulated from another electronic component by means of the electrically insulating plate member. In application to an electronic apparatus, therefore, the interference with another electronic component can be avoided at the time of changing or adding the electronic components. Thus, it becomes possible, for example, to conduct the work of changing or adding the electronic component while keeping the power supply of the electronic apparatus on for an improved workability and an improved safety. Also, the first latch member includes a plurality of grooves and the second latch member includes a protrusion or a pawl, for example, to form a latch structure, whereby the securing member, upon fitting on the latch area, moves freely in the direction of fitting but not in the reverse direction. Therefore, the securing member, when inserted until it comes into contact with an end of an electronic component, stops there and can fixedly secure the electronic component positively. The latch region can be formed on one or both of the surfaces of the plate member.
Preferably, the plate member has an upper edge and the latch region has a top corresponding to the upper edge, the latch grooves being arranged below the top so that the securing member can be fitted on the latch region in a first direction from the top toward the latch grooves, the latch grooves being configured such that the pawl can be moved beyond some of the latch grooves in the first direction but cannot be moved beyond the latch grooves in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and can slide along one of the latch groove for removal of the securing member from the plate member.
A plurality of latch regions are provided, each of the latch regions having a top and the plurality of latch grooves, the top of one latch region and the top of the adjacent latch region being formed at different heights so as to form a step.
Therefore, different latch regions have different heights, which makes it possible to fixedly secure electronic components of various sizes and different heights.
Also, by forming a guide rail portion integrally with the plate member for the electronic component, any electronic component which may be arranged in proximity can be guided and supported by the guide rail portion. The guide rail portion, which is formed integrally with the plate member as described above, need not be arranged specifically as an independent member unlike in the prior art. Thus, the structure can be simplified while at the same time reducing both the number of required parts and the number of assembly steps as well as the parts cost. The guide rail portion may be formed on both surfaces instead of one surface of the plate member. The provision of the guide rails on both sides permits the electronic components on the two sides to be efficiently supported.
Further, an opening is provided in the plate member, through which the electronic component arranged in proximity to the plate member can be grasped. By doing so, the mounting and demounting of adjacent electronic. components, especially the electronic components comparatively low in height, is facilitated, thereby desirably facilitating the work of changing or adding parts.
Also, a non-latch region, with no latch member, can be formed in proximity to the latch region, so that the securing member can slide toward the non-latch portion along the first latch member. By doing so, the securing member can be easily removed by pulling it off from the separating plate after being slid to the non-latch region, thereby simplifying the work of changing the electronic components. Further, the latch structure can be easily released without causing unnecessary vibrations, and therefore the other precision parts of the electronic apparatus are not adversely affected when changing the electronic components.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a separating structure comprising a separating plate, a securing member, and two electronic components arranged in proximity to the separating plate on either side thereof; the separating plate comprising a plate member made of an electrically insulating material to separate the two electronic components from each other in an electrically insulated manner, the plate member having opposite surfaces and at least one latch region having a first latch member formed in at least one of the opposite surfaces; the securing member having a second latch member and a securing portion to secure the electronic component; and the plate member being constructed such that the securing member can be fitted on the latch region and the second latch member can engage with the first latch member to secure at least one of the electronic components. As a result, a structure capable of electrically insulating two electronic components positively from each other is provided, and the effects described above can be exhibited by such a structure. Also, the latch structure constituted of the separating plate and the securing member can fixedly hold the electronic component positively with a simple structure, thereby making it possible to reduce the number of assembly steps and the cost.
The configuration of an electronic apparatus having a separating plate or a separating structure for an electronic component leads to the various effects described above. Also, the arrangement of the separating plate in the electronic apparatus is not specially disadvantageous in terms of space utilization. Further, in the case where air for cooling or heat insulation is sent into the electronic apparatus utilizing the space between the electronic component and the separating plate, the separating plate and the separating structure described above can exhibit the function as air regulation means.
According to still another aspect of the invention, there is provided a securing member fitted on a separating plate for securing an electronic component. The securing member permits the electronic component arranged in proximity to the separating plate to be positively held and fixed.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus comprising a separating plate comprising a plate member of an electrically insulating material formed with at least one latch region having a first latch member on at least one of the surfaces of the plate member, and a securing member including a second latch member adapted to engage the first latch member and a securing portion, which is located in proximity to the separating plate and adapted to come into contact with and secure the electronic component arranged in the casing, wherein the securing member is fitted on the latch region so that the securing portion comes into contact with the electronic component and the second latch member engages with the first latch member, with the result that the securing member fixedly secures the electronic component.
Also, the aforementioned configuration in which the securing member secures two electronic components arranged on either side of the separating plate makes it possible to secure two adjacent electronic components with a single securing member thereby desirably reducing the number of parts.
Further, the securing member includes a pair of first and second panels opposed to each other and coupled to each other at respective one ends with the other ends thereof open, wherein the second latch member is formed on the inner surface of the other end of the first panel, and the securing portion protrudes outward from at least one of the first and second panels. In this configuration, the securing member can be fitted on the latch region of the separating plate by way of the opening between the first and second panels, and therefore the latch structure can be easily formed while at the same time greatly facilitating the assembly work for securing and fixing the electronic component. The securing portion can be arranged either on both or only one of the two panels.
Also, the separating plate can be arranged in the casing by a configuration in which the separating plate may be flexible and an engaging portion may be arranged at the side end of the plate member to engage with the engaging portion of the casing. Then, when the separating plate is displaced while the engaging portion of the plate member is positioned at the engaging portion of the casing and loosened to the original state. Thus, the engaging portion of the plate member comes to engage with the engaging portion of the casing. Thus, the separating plate can be fixedly arranged positively in the casing without using any screws unlike in the prior art. The engaging portion of the separating plate is desirably formed at the two side ends of the separating plate.
In another configuration, a plurality of connectors for replacing the electronic component are arranged in the casing, the separating plate is arranged between a connector and an adjacent connector, and the electronic component is mounted on the connector. By doing so, when the electronic component is mounted in an unoccupied connector, the electronic component can be positively and easily electrically insulated, held and fixed.